61 pontic temptest is it worth any thing ?

worse a monza or vega

 

Correct, front suspension is NOT Corvair. They do have the same size brakes as corvair, 9x1.75

 

if you where closer to me id take that fairlane gladly

 

Going from any Ford to any Pontiac, even a T-1000, is an improvement in my view. Even the price guide agrees, the values for a '62 Tempest 2dr ht range from $600 to $15,000 for a 2-door hardtop; the values for the '61 Fairlane start at $400 and max out just shy of $10,000.

They tested that rope drive in full size '58 engineering development cars with a V8 engine, you must have to really beat the **** out of one (drag racing) to break it.

Further, I wouldn't even think about a Chevy motor in one, when the existing front mounts should bolt up to any side-mount Pontiac block, making a V8 a natural - didn't '63s have the 326 as an option? I'd have to get my book out and look.

I actually had a shot to pick up what looked like a restorable '63 V8 manual trans car a few years ago - I p***ed on it when I discovered the section of the yard it was in had flooded out at least twice, up to the top of this car. Figured everything that could fill with water, had done so, then frozen in the winter cold.

 

Looks like you are new here Keith. Welcome
Keith is on my avator on the left, hard to see clearly though.

 

Another one for keep the Ford!

 

Hi Steve!! Been here for a while doing a lot of reading. Not many post's though!

 

I'd do the trade just for something different. Fairlanes don't seem to be worth much anyway.

 

You are stuck between which undersirable car do I want.Check around the Ford is alot easier to find parts for and easier to sell or trade.

 

I've got a nice, straight '61 Tempest hood for sale cheap if anyone is looking, yes, it's in the Cl***ifieds.

 

I had a guy who worked at Pontiac tell me that drive "shaft" is like a big speedometer cable and they are hell to get out when the get all tangled up.

 

The '61 -'63 Tempests are known as 'ropeshaft' cars. Seems funny because the driveshaft is not at all like a rope or a cable.

The driveshafts in these cars are solid steel, 5/8" in diameter for auto trans cars and 3/4" for manual trans cars.

So much for that guy who worked at Pontiac, who had clearly never seen one of these Tempest driveshafts and fed you a load of hilariously bad info.

 

X2.....fer sure

 

Let me add & clarify a bit to draggin'GTO. All the 61-62's & all 63 4 cylinder cars have a 5/8" dia prop shaft. The 63 326 cars both manual & auto have a 3/4" shaft. There are several different length shafts depending on whether the car was manual, automatic, 3 speed, 4 speed & engine model. When the shaft is out on the ground, it is straight. When it is installed, it is about 3" off center.

What I like the most about an early Tempest is the rarity factor. If you go to a cruisein, car show, what ever, it mostlikely will be the only one there. I like it when people get down on the ground to look at the 4 wheel independant suspension & the rear transaxle under the car! Front motor, rear transmission, 4 wheel independant suspension, 1/2 a Pontiac V8 motor.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I had both a '61 or '62 Tempest, and a '62 Jetfire. I obviously never paid much attention to the body styles of that car family. A while back on the internet I definitely read that the hardtops made in limited numbers, that they were cobbled together using regular production and unique pieces, and I'm pretty sure it was said that only the Jetfire got a hardtop. The reason I remember is, it made me feel especially bad about the fact I s****ped my decent looking but not running and in the way Jetfire. After seeing the pic you posted and doing a little research there's no arguing that the info I read was BS. However, in that search I did find a statement saying that NO hardtops were made.

Unlike a V-8s, in-line 4 cylinder engines have no overlap in power strokes. Not only does that cause more vibration itself, that vibration tends to cause strong torsional resonance in the crankshaft. And added to that, in-line four cylinder engines also have an inherent rotational imbalance that imparts a strong bending force to the the crankshaft every 1/2 revolution. As a result, in-line 4 cylinder engines tend to be hard on cam drives, distributor gears, snout driven oil pumps, harmonic dampers, flex plates, or anything that connects to the crankshaft. All things being equal, the bigger the engine, the bigger these problems can be. So a timing chain design that was fine for a V-8 wasn't so good on the 4-cylinder version. There are various ways to deal with these problems. Whether in development and testing hours, or for additional hardware, to one degree or another all the remedies add cost. GM apparently felt they could get away without spending that money.

 

I am in no way discounting your first-hand experience with these cars. But I have personally seen them with bad timing chains and broken driveshafts. Possibly the habits of some drivers made things worse, and you are not one of those people? I have no idea what the rate of failure was but I have seen enough on them to know it happens more often than with other cars.